Saigomade
by keloid123
Summary: Goodbyes between old friends. Katou Yue meets Kira in an unlikely place and have a little talk. Slight swearing, as it is Katou. Spoiler for end of book 18


**Saigomade [To the End] **

Something was burning, and he knew it wasn't himself. Katou's nose wrinkled at the acrid smell. At the same time it seemed all too familiar as the scent continued to drift into his nostrils. It greeted him as if he were an old friend; it was nonetheless a welcome smell to the stench of blood and dust that filled the air. He looked around, and spotted the cigarette on the ground beside him_. Oh, that's right. It must have fallen out._ However, the end wasn't burnt. In fact, the cigarette looked fresh, unused. Katou shook his head. It was getting difficult to think anymore, his mind was clouding up and for once it wasn't from drugs. It would have been a lot more pleasant if it were from that. But everything was fine. Setsuna was safely on the other side of this wretched gate, and all his other little friends. Nothing else mattered anymore. Nothing…   
_Gomen ne, onee-san. Think of it this way, my sacrifice for your future on Earth. A pretty good exchange if you ask me. As for you father, I've lasted long enough despite the name you've given me and I'm damn proud of that. As for myself… Somehow I knew I'd die single._

"What do you think you're doing?" a voice interrupted his thoughts. Katou looked up; and was met with Kira Sakuya's sardonic smile, a cigarette between his lips. He was just as Katou had remembered him - right down to the slightly windblown hair and characteristic smirk. 

"I'm dying, that's what," Katou retorted.

"Oh?" Kira took a seat beside his friend. The manner in which their exchange took place suggested that neither seemed to care very much about what was happening. Whatever happened, happened. Both men took a second to glance at the rubble before them, the fallen buildings and corpses that littered the area. It was not something Katou wanted to discuss in his final moments. 

"As usual," Kira remarked, "Your tastes in the aesthetics need a little adjusting."

"Just screw off," Katou said grumpily. You just had to bring it up. "If I got to choose the place of my death, it sure as hell wouldn't have been here." 

There wasn't anyone to perform a miracle here to save him this time. No Setsuna, no Uriel, no nothing. Katou could feel the blood draining from his body; he was weakening fast. Katou fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette but couldn't find any. Sighing, he reached for the one on the ground beside him and propped it in his mouth. However, Katou had no lighter. He cursed; he must have put it down and forgotten it somewhere. Another cigarette end was held to his; it only took a moment for it to catch and light. Kira drew back.

"Thanks," Katou mumbled. Kira nodded in reply.

"You know," Katou began, "Your pretty useful to have around. Even as a solidified dead ghost conjured up from my memories."

  
"So you've realized." Kira didn't look at him.

"Of course. Even my brain pities me enough that I get a nice hallucination before my death. "

"Congratulations," was the answer. "And what if I really were the Kira Sakuya, in the flesh?"

"I'd smack you silly for all the stunts you've pulled, and not coming back sooner." He paused for a second. "Kira?"

"What?"

"I want a hug." Kira looked at him a little disgustedly.

"No, I'm not that kind of person, idiot! Nor am I sentimental cry-baby." Katou rolled his eyes. "I just want to hold something; something real before I die."

"…"

"Come on old buddy," Katou insisted. "I'd much rather hug a tree, but you'll do. And I don't want to hug some dead guy," he gestured towards one of the fallen corpses. 

Without waiting for further consent, Katou reached over and wrapped his arms around Kira, resting his head on a shoulder. Kira didn't seem to mind the blood that was dripping all over him so much as having Katou's artificial claw digging into his back, but he didn't say anything so Katou didn't loosen his grip. Kira's body was warm, just as Katou's had once been. He wasn't even human anymore. He was some sort of overgrown plant. 

Katou almost laughed; the last time the both of them had been this close was when Kira had quite literally plunged a fist into him. _Of course it had really been Lucifer, but what does it matter now? Nearly killed by him twice and dying with him again… It always ends with him, doesn't it? Kira, Lucifer, Kira, Lucifer. Like water and oil, but one and the same. Whether you're a figment of my imagination or not, to see you as Kira one last time.. This is the kind of mercy I will be eternally grateful for. I'm a lucky bastard._

Katou looked Kira into the eyes and grinned, one of his usual sarcastic expressions. "I'm a failure. You know I've been one all my life.. So say a real goodbye to that crazy kid for me, Kira, and all the other people I've missed. Drop 'em a hint that Katou Yue actually cared. Say my goodbyes." 

Kira was about to reply, but Katou had already gone, the cigarette still lit in his mouth. He took it out, flicking it to the ground. Then he gently eased Katou down as well, passing a hand over his eyes to close them. 

"You aren't a failure. You've done more than your share, and there's something else you've done that few can ever do." Kira stood up and looked out to the darkening horizon. The beginning of the end. "You've met death with a big mocking smile."

Owari

  
Thanks for reading! I thought the ending to book 18 of the manga was rather sad yet fitting at the same time. I just wanted to add something to it.


End file.
